PEARL CITY — The Pearl City Chargers persevered through a long day of shooting and crazy weather yesterday to sweep the O'ahu Interscholastic Association air riflery team titles.

The Pearl City girls edged Kalani, 1,209 to 1,206, to win the team championship for the first time since 2006 at the OIA championships. The Pearl City boys defeated Leilehua, 1,257 to 1,171, for their fifth straight OIA title and sixth since 2002.

Moanalua junior Chelsie Hata shot a 274 out of a possible 300 to win the girls individual title, and Leilehua senior Andrew Nishihara shot a 259 to win the boys title.

All this through several rounds of shooting that started in the morning and didn't end until late in the afternoon, and weather that was a mix of sun, wind, rain and overcast conditions.

"Going to practice is the main thing," said Pearl City senior and boys captain LeLan Aranaydo. "It helped on our stamina, especially coming off the semifinals; we still stayed strong."

The Pearl City boys defeated Moanalua, 1,256 to 1,137, in one semifinal while Leilehua edged Kalani, 1,212 to 1,210, in the other. Several hours later, both teams shot shoulder to shoulder in the final round.

Teams could field up to 10 shooters with the top five scores counting toward the team total. Each shooter had 10 shots each in the prone, standing and kneeling positions.

Scoring for Pearl City in the final round were Warren Ramiscal (262), Aranaydo (261), Andrew Yamada (252), Derrick Shigemura (244) and Pedring Soriano (238). Nishihara led Leilehua with a 247 and Riley Miyamoto shot a 240.

Aranaydo, coached by his father Lester, said remaining patient through the day was important.

"Too much thoughts create pressure," Aranaydo said.

Nishihara won the individual title with his 259 total from the semifinal round. He edged Aranaydo and teammate Daryl Sanbei, both of whom shot 258s. Only scores from the team semifinal rounds could count toward the individual standings.

Nishihara said the win gives him confidence going into the state championships Oct. 28. He didn't expect to win, saying Aranaydo usually "shoots way better," and that Sanbei could've been the winner.

"It was one shot," Nishihara said of the margin of victory. "If he didn't miss that shot, I would've lost."

Norah Nguyen shot a 255 and Kryssa Isobe shot a 244 to pace the Chargers in the girls team final. Also scoring for Pearl City were Jasmyne Tanabe (241), Shawna Watanabe (236) and Alisyn Vega (233).

Kalani was led by Uy Di Le's 257 and 240s from Jennifer Nose and Anna Rong.

"It was nerve wracking," said Nguyen, a senior and the girls captain. "When we found out it was only three shots, I was like 'oh my god.' It felt really good."

In the semifinals, Kalani defeated Kapolei, 1,253 to 1,096, and Pearl City beat Moanalua, 1,202 to 1,142.

Nguyen said the weather was a factor, pointing out that "one gust just makes your shot go off target."

Hata, who had the best regular-season average among girls and boys, shot a season-best 274 to win the girls title. She shot a 96 out of a possible 100 in the prone position, had a 86 in the standing and a 92 in the kneeling.

Kalani's Nose and Le finished second and third.

"It's a joy to coach her," Moanalua coach Francis Achiu said. "She concentrates, shoots and afterwards, she's one of the girls, playing games and cards with the team."